LGBTQ+ Football team celebrate Championship Gold in Gay Games Victory

Village Manchester FC say their Gay Games gold is a “dream come true” and the “pinnacle achievement” of the club after being crowned world champions in Valencia.

VMFC entered four teams into the tournament, with two 11-a-side squads and two 7-a-side squads competing against LGBTQ+ football teams from across the world.

Around 65 players travelled as part of a wider group of about 84 to 85 people, including supporters and partners.

Deputy Chair Antony Lockley OBE told Gaydio News the result was “great news for Manchester and LGBTQ+ football in this region”.

He said: “We went to Valencia to the Gay Games and Football World Championships with scores and scores of teams from all over the world, and finally we emerged as gold medallists and world champions.”

The tournament was played in intense conditions, with VMFC saying players competed in 32 to 34 degree heat every day.

Antony said the football was “extremely competitive”, especially in Division One, adding that it was “no less competitive than any other form of mainstream football” he had been involved in.

The club’s first 11-a-side team faced a strong side from Argentina in the quarter-final before beating Seattle Stonewall 1-0 in the semi-final.

They then faced West Hollywood in the final, described by VMFC as “the team to beat” after their previous Gay Games and World Championship success in Europe in 2018.

For VMFC, the win carried extra emotional weight. The club had previously lost World Championship finals on penalties in 2005 and again in 2018.

Antony said: “It’s the pinnacle achievement of the club. It belongs to everybody past and present.”

Chair James Cole said the result still had not fully sunk in, adding: “We’re still talking about it like it happened yesterday.”

The victory also comes as Village Manchester FC marks 30 years since it was founded.

The club was formed in 1996 by a group of gay men who advertised in a local paper to create a safe space to play football together.

It soon entered the Manchester Accountants League, with VMFC saying it has always been important to both provide LGBTQ+ safe spaces and take part in mainstream football.

Discussing the club’s approach to inclusion, James said: “We offer a place for anybody who wants to play football.

“Obviously we have some very good players, we’re world champions, but you can turn up never having kicked a ball and we’ve got a team that you can play football in.”

VMFC are also five-time GFSN Cup winners.

The GFSN, or Gay Football Supporters Network, was described in the interview as a UK organisation set up to help organise LGBTQ+ football for people who wanted to play “the game they love in a safe space”.

Looking ahead, the club says its next target is the EuroGames in Cardiff next year.

James said: “I would personally love to be world champions and European champions at the same time.”